In a landmark verdict that has captivated the French antiques community, two revered experts, Georges "Bill" Pallot and Bruno Desnoues, have been convicted of producing forgeries of historic furniture claimed to have belonged to French royals, including the infamous Marie Antoinette. The court sentenced them to four months in prison, but due to their prior detention, they will avoid additional time behind bars.
Alongside the prison term, fines of €200,000 ($169,500) for Pallot and €100,000 for Desnoues were imposed. The trial culminated in a nine-year investigation, revealing a web of deceit within the high-stakes antiques market. A third defendant, Laurent Kraemer, and his gallery faced accusations of negligence but were acquitted of all charges, as no evidence indicated they had knowingly sold counterfeit items.
The prosecution highlighted the significant role of Kraemer and his gallery in the fraudulent sales, including a high-profile transaction to Qatari prince Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani, who paid €2 million for two counterfeit Marie Antoinette chairs. Kraemer's legal team asserted their client had been unjustly accused, emphasizing that the gallery was a victim of the operation.
Pallot, once recognized as a leading scholar on 18th-Century French chairs, and Desnoues, a renowned cabinetmaker, orchestrated the forgeries, exploiting Pallot’s access to Versailles Palace. He meticulously identified unaccounted pieces and collaborated with Desnoues to create replicas. During the trial, Pallot's admission reflected the ease of their deception: "Everything was fake but the money."
The prosecutor underscored the trial's implications for the antiques market, calling it a "rare spotlight" that revealed significant flaws in the historical furniture industry, highlighting the conflicts of interest of experts who simultaneously act as merchants without disclosing their dual roles to buyers. This case may serve as a catalyst for substantial reform in the regulation of art transactions in France, a necessity highlighted by past fraud cases within the antiques trade.
